Founding members
Thor
Captain America
Thundra
Mr. Fantastic
Iron Man
Sub-Mariner
Silver Surfer
Recruits
Hawkeye
Ant-Man/Yellowjacket
Captain Mar-Vell
Mockingbird
Beast
Vision
Ms. Marvel (Una, Mar-Vell’s wife and partner)
Scarlet Witch
Showing posts with label Mr. Fantastic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mr. Fantastic. Show all posts
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
The “Big Seven” of the Avengers
Now that I’ve established enough pairings, I can say what the first lineup of the alternate Avengers would be.
The Avengers: Founding Lineup
Thor
Captain America
Thundra
Iron Man
Mr. Fantastic
Sub-Mariner
Silver Surfer
It’s been written somewhere (hell if I can remember which message board it was) that the Avengers are like a championship team —composed of players with varying abilities who work together in order to triumph— and the JLA is like an All-Star team — top of the line players.
In the prevailing Marvel iteration, we have three characters forever linked to the Avengers, two loners who nonetheless were involved in the Defenders, one marginal character, and the leader of the Fantastic Four…but this is what it looks like with the shoe on the other foot.
The Avengers: Founding Lineup
Thor
Captain America
Thundra
Iron Man
Mr. Fantastic
Sub-Mariner
Silver Surfer
It’s been written somewhere (hell if I can remember which message board it was) that the Avengers are like a championship team —composed of players with varying abilities who work together in order to triumph— and the JLA is like an All-Star team — top of the line players.
In the prevailing Marvel iteration, we have three characters forever linked to the Avengers, two loners who nonetheless were involved in the Defenders, one marginal character, and the leader of the Fantastic Four…but this is what it looks like with the shoe on the other foot.
Friday, January 18, 2008
A first family and some "freaks"
Fantastic Four- Doom Patrol
Give or take Spider-Man, the FF pretty much is Marvel, for reasons anyone likely to read these words understand. Whereas the Doom Patrol was DC’s response to Marvel: here were “freakish” characters who squabbled and were misunderstood by the general populace.
Should anyone be moved to comment here (or, ahem, ever), I would imagine that the FF's similarities to the Jack Kirby-created Challengers of the Unknown would be brought up. I would also imagine that Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol would be mentioned as well, but I have never read any of the trades. But essentially, I think the two teams have more in common than not.
Mr. Fantastic- Mento
Commonalities:
Both are real smart guys, and Steve Dayton’s telekinesis and Reed Richard’s elasticity achieve similar ends. Both are married respectively to the two women cited below.
Differences:
“World’s Fifth Richest Man” Dayton was only an occasional member of the DP, and was often portrayed as an arrogant dilettante, whereas Richards is merely absent-minded and pedantic. Dayton also went nuts and became the Crimelord apparently, and has only recently been redeemed in Geoff Johns’ Teen Titans. Richards has only recently been written as misguided vis-a-vis Civil War.
Invisible Woman- Elasti Girl
Commonalities:
Both are the mother figures of their teams; you could say that Rita Farr becoming very small achieves the same purpose as Susan Richards becoming invisible, and Farr’s becoming a giant achieves the same purpose as Richards’ forcefields (you could say that the better matchup, ability-wise, would be Reed = Rita, Sue = Steve, but gender distinctions will remain enforced here).
Differences:
Being that Farr was the only death that stuck from DP’s 1968’s series finale (for four decades), I don’t believe she developed much past the one-dimension characterization common to female characters in both Marvel and DC universes (I could be wrong about this). After a good 20 years as a fourth wheel, in 1981 Susan was rendered more or less the strongest female character Marvel’s got—for which we can thank the ever-controversial John Byrne.
Thing- Robotman
Commonalities:
One of the most perfect matchups: Ben Grimm and Cliff Steele are tough guys with hearts ‘a gold who are trapped in monstrous forms they no likey…
Differences:
Only that Grimm can change to human form back from time: Steele cannot.
Human Torch- Negative Man
Commonalities:
The similarity of a flaming dude and a dude who can send a radioactive shadow hurtling around seems pretty on point to me.
Differences:
I’m not sure how Larry Trainor was characterized in the 1960s, other than the fact that he was unhappy at the prospect of spending his life swaddled in bandages. Seems a far cry from the happy go lucky Johnny Storm. Trainor is not related to Farr, but, as we will see going forward, family ties are so numerous in both universes that it would be counterproductive to let them dictate every equivalent.
You’ll notice I did not include Niles Caulder: he’ll be included another time in a post regarding another team matchup…
Alternate histories:
FF: Three individuals are separately altered by cosmic rays, and are brought together by a gentleman to be named later to combat evil. They are joined by Reed Richards and another younger person (also to be named later), but are soon slaughtered—although, by the providence of ret-con, they eventually are resurrected.
DP: Four good friends are mutually beset by trauma, and band together to combat evil. The group are regarded as the beacons of a new heroic age (a few members are occasionally substituted for by individuals—again, to be named later).
Give or take Spider-Man, the FF pretty much is Marvel, for reasons anyone likely to read these words understand. Whereas the Doom Patrol was DC’s response to Marvel: here were “freakish” characters who squabbled and were misunderstood by the general populace.
Should anyone be moved to comment here (or, ahem, ever), I would imagine that the FF's similarities to the Jack Kirby-created Challengers of the Unknown would be brought up. I would also imagine that Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol would be mentioned as well, but I have never read any of the trades. But essentially, I think the two teams have more in common than not.
Mr. Fantastic- Mento
Commonalities:
Both are real smart guys, and Steve Dayton’s telekinesis and Reed Richard’s elasticity achieve similar ends. Both are married respectively to the two women cited below.
Differences:
“World’s Fifth Richest Man” Dayton was only an occasional member of the DP, and was often portrayed as an arrogant dilettante, whereas Richards is merely absent-minded and pedantic. Dayton also went nuts and became the Crimelord apparently, and has only recently been redeemed in Geoff Johns’ Teen Titans. Richards has only recently been written as misguided vis-a-vis Civil War.
Invisible Woman- Elasti Girl
Commonalities:
Both are the mother figures of their teams; you could say that Rita Farr becoming very small achieves the same purpose as Susan Richards becoming invisible, and Farr’s becoming a giant achieves the same purpose as Richards’ forcefields (you could say that the better matchup, ability-wise, would be Reed = Rita, Sue = Steve, but gender distinctions will remain enforced here).
Differences:
Being that Farr was the only death that stuck from DP’s 1968’s series finale (for four decades), I don’t believe she developed much past the one-dimension characterization common to female characters in both Marvel and DC universes (I could be wrong about this). After a good 20 years as a fourth wheel, in 1981 Susan was rendered more or less the strongest female character Marvel’s got—for which we can thank the ever-controversial John Byrne.
Thing- Robotman
Commonalities:
One of the most perfect matchups: Ben Grimm and Cliff Steele are tough guys with hearts ‘a gold who are trapped in monstrous forms they no likey…
Differences:
Only that Grimm can change to human form back from time: Steele cannot.
Human Torch- Negative Man
Commonalities:
The similarity of a flaming dude and a dude who can send a radioactive shadow hurtling around seems pretty on point to me.
Differences:
I’m not sure how Larry Trainor was characterized in the 1960s, other than the fact that he was unhappy at the prospect of spending his life swaddled in bandages. Seems a far cry from the happy go lucky Johnny Storm. Trainor is not related to Farr, but, as we will see going forward, family ties are so numerous in both universes that it would be counterproductive to let them dictate every equivalent.
You’ll notice I did not include Niles Caulder: he’ll be included another time in a post regarding another team matchup…
Alternate histories:
FF: Three individuals are separately altered by cosmic rays, and are brought together by a gentleman to be named later to combat evil. They are joined by Reed Richards and another younger person (also to be named later), but are soon slaughtered—although, by the providence of ret-con, they eventually are resurrected.
DP: Four good friends are mutually beset by trauma, and band together to combat evil. The group are regarded as the beacons of a new heroic age (a few members are occasionally substituted for by individuals—again, to be named later).
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